Neuroscience JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Abbiategrasso Brain Bank Protocol for Collecting, Processing and Characterizing Aging Brains

Name: Abbiategrasso Brain Bank Protocol for Collecting, Processing and Characterizing Aging Brains
Uploaded: 2026-06-17
Description: In a constantly aging population, the prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders is expected to rise. Understanding disease mechanisms is the key to find ...

DOI: 10.3791/60296-v

What you'll learn

✓ Implement longitudinal brain donation program protocols for aging research
✓ Perform post-mortem brain removal and tissue dissection techniques
✓ Process brain tissue for freezing, fixation, and diagnostic analysis
✓ Characterize neuropathological features in aged brain specimens

Protocol

This protocol describes a method to track individual brain-aging trajectories through a brain donation program and proper characterization of brains. Brain donors are involved in a long-term longitudinal study including serial multi-dimensional assessments. The protocol contains a detailed description of brain processing and an accurate diagnostic methodology.

Difficulty

advanced

Total time

~4–6 hours per brain (post-mortem through processing and initial characterization)

Model organism

Human (aged brain donors)

Biosafety

BSL-1

Steps

Establish longitudinal brain aging study framework

Set up systematic brain donation program with serial multi-dimensional assessments of donors over time to track individual brain-aging trajectories.

▶ 00:04

Collect brain tissue after death confirmation

Document time of death and perform timely brain removal following institutional protocols to preserve tissue quality for downstream analysis.

▶ 01:28

Dissect brain tissue using standardized protocol

Execute Abbiategrasso Brain Bank dissection procedure to systematically section brain into regions for neuropathological examination and molecular studies.

▶ 05:23

Prepare tissue through freezing and fixation

Divide dissected tissue portions for cryopreservation and chemical fixation to enable both molecular and histopathological analyses.

▶ 08:26

Conduct neuropathological characterization and diagnosis

Perform comprehensive diagnostic analysis of brain specimens to identify and document aging-related pathological features and neurodegenerative markers.

▶ 09:17

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